Any death is sad. I cannot image losing a child. I recall some reporting of both incidents but what were the specifics of the police being summoned and the events leading up to the shootings.
I recall some of the reporting at that time but I would appreciate a fuller picture to better understand the what, how and why. Thanks.

The what, how and why? Any loss of life is sad, but it's sad that police are put in a position to deal with mentally ill people who are uncooperative. To the point of making a split second decision that leads to loss of life, millions of dollars to the taxpayers and a prison sentence for the officer. Are we supposed to let them throw rocks and pull a knife on a police officer with no consequences? Police are trained to stop a threat.

Jennifer, I agree with most of what you're wrote, with the exception of it "being sad that police are put in the position of dealing with mentally ill people." The police are supposed to be trained to deal with these situations. The problem here was that a man unsuited to be a police officer was given a badge and a gun by our sheriff. The needless killing of Mr. Arboleda was the point at which Hall should have been permanently removed from the Danville PD, at the minimum. Instead, evidently the Sheriff's Office decided to "whitewash" what was done, setting the stage for the death of Mr. Wilson. And it would seem that it all comes down to the Sheriff's Department's "use of force training." To think that either of the dead men actually presented a serious threat to Hall is specious on its face. Hall had the idea he was a hammer, and everything he came upon looked like a nail to him. The idea that Hall may well be back on the street having served only half his sentence shows you just how our justice system is failing. If a "ordinary citizen" shot two people under similar circumstances, he or she would be facing life in prison. So, I hope the DA actually prosecutes Hall for Wilson's death, and if found guilty, has substantial time added to his current sentence.

The only people properly trained to deal with the mentally ill (IMO) are psychiatrists. The police are properly trained to deal with the criminal element. They can give police officers all the "training" they want dealing with the mentally ill but they're not mental health professionals. To deal effectively with mentally ill you have to have a calming effect. The police are anything but. I'm supportive of LE in general, but when it comes to dealing with the mentally ill the police are failing.

If anyone has any doubt about how dangerous a person knife-welding can be, watch this video.

Body cam video shows first-person view of Georgia
officer’s attack by knife-welding man.

Watch how fast the suspect closes in on the officer AFTER being shot.

Web Link

@Jennifer

By your logic, A person suffering from a mental health condition who is combative, brandishes a firearm, knife, baseball bat, etc., should only be dealt with by a psychiatrist. Really? And what training does a psychiatrist have should the situation call for lethal force? None.

People with mental health disorders, or any other type of condition who exhibit violent behavior, need to be met with force, not kind words. And unfortunately, that force, depending on the situation, often times leads to lethal force.

Your lack of experience and knowledge in this area is telling, to say the least. But I challenge you to do this: visit the acute psychiatric unit on the 8th floor at the Santa Clara County Main Jail in San Jose. Talk to the deputies and mental health professionals who work there. Believe me, what you think you know, you don’t.

One last thing… Calm words don’t always work with people who have severe mental health disorders. In fact, calm words can have the opposite effect.

I never said police shouldn't get involved. I said they're not properly trained, and they never will be. LE officers that I know admit that they're failing the mentally ill. Because they are. To the point of death, millions of dollars to taxpayers and prison sentences for an officer. Wake up.

@Jennifer

Most police / sheriff departments have trained hostage negotiators should the situation call for one.

What I find interesting in your rant above is that you put the onus on the police for failing the mentally ill. In what way?

The blame game is easy when you haven't been exposed to the truth.

A death occurred, Hall was fired, sent to prison and taxpayers are on the hook for millions of dollars. Those weren't my decisions. That's reality and the truth. You blindly support the police, and it's ignorant to blindly support anyone.

And how the police fail the mentally ill? You have to deescalate the situation.

You're the one who is ranting. You do it all the time with anyone who disagrees with you.

@ Jennifer - said:

"And how the police fail the mentally ill? You have to deescalate the situation."

That's exactly what the officer attempted to do until the suspect pulled out a knife in a threatening manner. No one failed anyone. Stop blaming law enforcement for a job you can't do.

Better yet, what's your solution? Put a mental health worker in the officer's position without any way of defending his/her self? If that's the case, then the mental health worker would be doing the job of cop.

Pick your poison.

It's not "my solution" but there are agencies that are sending mental health workers to accompany LE dealing with the mentally ill, including the city I grew up in. I remember reading an article where a chief of police in Florida admitted failing the mentally ill. He went on to say "we're not social workers."

Pick your poison is correct.

You still have not answered the obvious question: how is law enforcement failing dangerous people with mental health conditions?

BY KILLING THEM.

Malcolm clearly is not a police officer or a trained professional that understands how to deal with a mentally ill person. We spend millions of dollars year training police and other first responders on how to deal with people who are mentally ill and most police officers handle it correctly. Clearly Ex Officer Hall did not and since this was his second time killing someone maybe we had two mentally ill people in this situation. One with a gun who has the propensity to kill people and one with a knife who we have no clue what he would have done if someone didn’t come after him with a gun. As a trained professional I saw a guy who could have easily been calmed down or disarmed without killing him Ex Officer Hall seemed to be of the shoot first ask questions later school of thought (if he had a thought ) and I for one don’t pay taxes to keep people like that on the street He deserves what he got for the killing in 2018 and will deserve what he got for the killing of Tyrell Wilson

Today’s Quiz…

A person with a mental health condition attempts to commit a violent act upon you. Who would you call?

A. A Psychiatrist

B. A Police Officer

You are a trained professional? In What?